Sunday, February 10, 2013

According to the Chinese calendar, today is the first day of 2013. Happy new year everyone! 2013 is the year of the snake. Today is also my birthday; I'm 36. I've made it through 3 complete cycles of the Chinese horoscope. Three is a lucky number in Chinese culture, and it sounds close to "birth."

Most people think I'm a snake, but in reality I'm a dragon(the animal that proceeds the snake on the Chinese horoscope). See, a Chinese year can be either 12 or 13 months. When I was born 36 years ago, February tenth was still in 1976. I'm what in Chinese is known as a 真龍假蛇(true dragon, false snake).

My father's birthday is February ninth, so this year is also special because our birthdays are the last and first days of the year. If you think about things like lineage, an unbroken chain, passing the torch, metamorphosis, the days are quite significant...I can hear your mental "oohs and aahs" from here.